Putin's Security Council Chief Meets Tajik President

A senior adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with Tajikistan's president to discuss measures to improve security on the Central Asian nation's border with Afghanistan.

Nikolai Patrushev, chairman of Putin's Security Council, held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe on October 17.

Security Council spokesman Igor Shvytkin said they discussed "the situation in Afghanistan and necessary measures to reinforce the Tajik-Afghan border."

Russia, which is separated from Afghanistan by Tajikistan and other Central Asian former Soviet republics, says it fears a possible influx of drugs and militants with the withdrawal of most Western forces from Afghanistan by the end of this year.

Shvydkin said they also discussed ways to promote further military cooperation and arms trade between Russia and Tajikistan, whose economy relies heavily on remittances from labor migrants working in Russia.